Senior border police commander killed in East of Afghanistan

A senior commander of the Afghan Border Police forces was killed in an explosion in eastern Kunar province.

Local officials confirmed the commander of the 3rd brigade of border police forces was killed late on Monday night in Dangam district.

Provincial police chief Juma Gul Hemat said a magnetic bomb planted in the vehicle of Gen. Wali Jan was detonated by the militants.

No group including the Taliban insurgents has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

Taliban insurgents and militants belonging to the insurgent groups frequently use Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as the weapon of their choice to target the Afghan security forces and the government officials.

However, in majority of such attacks the ordinary civilians are targeted as the militant groups are accused of causing the majority of the civilian casualties.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said late in October that the mission has documented 8,397 conflict-related civilian casualties (2,562 deaths and 5,835 injured) between 1 January and 30 September, representing a one per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2015. Ground engagements remained the leading cause of civiliancasualties, followed by suicide and complex attacks, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“Increased fighting in densely populated areas makes it imperative for parties to take immediate steps to ensure all feasible precautions are being taken to spare civilians from harm,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.